I Plead the Sixth, Peter
by Tecknologic
Summary: Peter is convinced to join the literature club by his teacher in an attempt to lure him out of his shell. He is suspicious of everyone and everything everywhere all the time, making things even more difficult for Monika. Monika is left to ponder his suspicions and begins to question her own morals. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there is a plot unfolding with mysterious origins.
1. Chapter 1

DDLC Is Dan Salvato's, not mine.

Unknown – 'I thought: it was a normal day. I thought: We would be happy. I thought… we were safe'

Ms. Johnson 'Okay, class dismissed'

Ms. Johnson 'Peter.'

Peter 'Yes Ms. J?'

Ms. J 'Could you stay after class? I would like to have a word with you. You aren't in trouble or anything like that.'

The students leave.

I walk over to the teacher

Peter 'Is this about my introversion?'

Ms. J 'Yes. I think you should join a club.'

P 'Did you have any in mind?'

Ms. J 'I know you are a little scientist, but I though a change in pace might be refreshing.'

Normally, I wouldn't give this conversation a seconds thought, but Ms. J was always like a second mother to me. She always cared for me.

P 'Where are you going with this?'

Ms. J 'I want you to go to the Literature club.'

P 'Absolutely not. I'm horrible when it comes to literature anyways.'

Ms. J 'Please, Peter? Just check it out.'

No. Nooo. DAMN THE SAD FACE. I'm melting.

I shake my head.

Ms. J 'For me?'

Damn It.

Peter 'Fine! You win. Just don't do that. It's dangerous.'

Ms. J 'Ok. Thank you.'

Peter 'Of course. What room?'

Ms. J '122. Every day after school.'

Peter 'Okay… I'll let you know how it went in the morning.'

Ms. J 'Sounds good'

I head to room 122.

Damn, I can't believe I am about to go and talk to humans.

I decide to take a peek into the room before opening the door.

I see one very short pink haired girl, a very tall, purple haired girl, an average height bubbly looking girl, one average height guy with a stupid look on his face, and one brunette school idol.

Let's address the elephant in the room. The guy sucks at Windsor knots, but the rest of his outfit well-maintained. Conclusion? He isn't very good with his hands. Probably not a sports jockey. He has poor posture, in the self-defense category anyways. He doesn't care about self-defense too much. Most people don't. Not paranoid. Another thing about his posture, it doesn't help his back. Meaning he isn't sitting looking at a book to need to cater to his back. He doesn't read, avidly at least. I can't tell from here, but I'd bet he's an idiot here for the girls.

I breathe in, and enter thinking of believer – Imagine Dragons.

And in sync with the chorus:

Peter 'Hey.'

Monika 'Peter! What a pleasant surprise.'

I am very confused. I don't recall ever meeting her. I happen to know she's Monika because she's practically worshipped around here.

Monika 'What brings you here?'

Peter 'I was hoping to check out the Literature club. '

Pink 'another boy!?'

Peter 'What's wrong with that? I'm sure we can work something out.'

Monika seems surprised by my calm reply.

Pink 'Hmph!'

Peter 'I'm Peter by the way.'

Pink 'Natsuki.'

Peter 'So, what kind of literature do you read?'

Natsuki 'm-manga' she's practically whispering.

Purple 'I don't think that counts as literature.'

Before Natsuki can speak, I inadvertently interrupt her.

Peter 'Is manga of or relating to books?'

Purple 'w-well, y-yes'

Peter 'Then, by literal definition, manga is of the literature origin.'

Natsuki 'Exactly!' she is definitely screaming

Peter 'Ow.'

Natsuki 'Sorry.'

Monika 'I see you are getting along just fine, Peter'

Peter 'I still have some others to introduce myself to.'

Peter 'It was nice to meet you Natsuki.'

I don't get a response.

I introduced myself to what I learn to be Yuri and Sayori. I head over to the only other male in the room.

Peter 'Hi, I'm Peter'

Guy 'I'm Tom'

Peter 'What kind of literature do you read?'

Tom 'M-manga' He practically whispers it too.

What is this 'manga' everyone seems so ashamed of?

Peter 'Like Natsuki, right?'

Tom 'Yeah.' This time he's a little louder

Peter 'What's it like in the club with the festival coming up in a few days?'

Tom 'Surprisingly calm. We write poems every day and present them, making preparation in between.'

Seems acceding to Ms. J may not be a mistake after all.

Peter 'I imagine Yuri and Natsuki didn't take it well.'

Tom 'They fought at first, but as they got more comfortable, they both calmed down.'

Peter 'I'm glad they worked it out. Are there poems today too?'

Tom 'Yep. We should be sharing them soon.'

Monika 'Okay, everyone, it's time to share our poems.'

Since I don't have a poem, I go and sit at a desk.

I begin cogitating about the club.

Shortly after, Monika walks up to me.

Monika 'Hi'

I almost don't notice Monika's greeting.

Peter 'Oh, hello' I said cheerfully

Monika 'I noticed you sitting there and decided to make everything's alright.'

Peter 'Everything's great. I met Natsuki, Yuri, Sayori and Tom, all of them are very nice and I don't foreshadow and problems getting along.'

Monika 'Great! Does this mean you're joining?'

Peter 'Assuming you're okay with it.'

Monika 'Of course. Welcome to the club! If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to let me know, okay?'

Peter 'Sounds good.'

Monika 'As you may have already heard, we are sharing our poems every meeting. So, write a poems some time tonight for the next meeting, okay?'

Peter 'Will do.'

Monika 'Would you like to see my poem?'

Peter 'May I?'

Monika 'Of course.'

An old tale tells of a lady who wanders Earth.

The Lady who knows everything.

A beautiful lady who has found every answer,

All meaning,

All purpose,

And all that was ever sought.

And here I am,

a feather

Lost adrift the sky, victim of the currents of the wind.

Day after day, I search.

I search with little hope, knowing legends don't exist.

But when all else has failed me,

When all others have turned away,

The legend is all that remains – the last dim star glimmering in the twilit sky.

Until one day, the wind ceases to blow.

I fall.

And I fall and fall, and fall even more.

Gentle as a feather.

A dry quill, expressionless.

But a hand catches me between the thumb and forefinger.

The hand of a beautiful lady.

I look at her eyes and find no end to her gaze.

The Lady who Knows Everything knows what I am thinking.

Before I can speak, she responds in a hollow voice.

"I have found every answer, all of which amount to nothing.

There is no meaning.

There is no purpose.

And we seek only the impossible.

I am not your legend.

Your legend does not exist."

And with a breath, she blows me back afloat, and I pick up a gust of wind.

I take a few moments to ponder the meaning.

Peter 'In this poem, what is 'everything'? I get the feeling it represents just what has been discovered already, but seems to ignore what there is to discover.'

Monika 'I never thought of it that way.'

Peter 'If one knows everything, I feel like their curiosity for what is yet to be discovered would increase. Especially because they would know everything they needed to discover something new, but know nothing about what they discovered. To be clear, by 'discover' I mean a scientific invention or theory.'

Monika 'I'm really surprised. I didn't expect to meet such a critical thinker.'

Peter 'I would have to say the same about you.'

Monika 'I look forward to seeing your poem'

Peter 'Likewise'

Monika 'Okay, everyone. That's it for today'

Sayori 'Are you going to be joining the club?'

Peter 'Assuming no one has any objections.'

I look around

Natsuki 'Why do you want to join this club?'

To be honest I expected this from the club president, coming from Natsuki, it's a surprise.

Peter 'Expanding my horizons.'

Oh! That's where I met Monika, Biology! In hindsight, she probably could have recognized me for top grades in the state. You what they say 'hindsight's always 20/20'. I have no Idea why this pops in my head _now._

Natsuki 'Hmph. I suppose that's okay.'

Tom 'Come on, Natsuki, give the guy a break'

Natsuki 'Fine.'

Did I do something to her? I dare not ask, because if I did do something, and ask if I did something, I would be in a world of pain. Not really, but making more enemies is not exactly on my to-do list.

Sayori 'Hey, Tom, want to walk home together?'

I watch as Tom and Sayori exit, followed by Natsuki, then Yuri.

Peter 'usque die crastino'

I wonder if she understood that.

Monika 'Travel safely'

I head home listening to Fly – Marshmellow.

Peter 'I'm Home'

Liz 'You're an hour late. Where have you been? I've been worried sick!'

She pulls me in for a hug

Peter 'Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you.'

Peter 'I sent you a text.'

I pull out my phone and see I typed the message but didn't hit send.

Peter 'I did **_not_** send you text. The text was supposed to tell you Ms. J roped me into checking out an afterschool club, I had assumed she already told, but I wasn't sure so I thought I sent a text that would let you know. '

Liz 'What club?'

Peter 'The literature club. I figured I could learn something about literature since I'm not an avid novel reader.'

Liz 'How'd it go?'

Peter 'I got along with everyone. There are, including me, six members: Tom – A guy interested in the girls, Sayori – A suspiciously happy person, Natsuki – a girl who was having a bad day, Yuri – an introverted literary genius, or so I'm told, and Monika – The school Idol that's good at everything. We have a club meeting every day.'

Liz 'Well I'm glad to see you getting out of your shell.'

Peter 'Meh.'

Peter 'Who's turn is it to make dinner?'

Liz 'Yours'

Peter 'Any suggestions?'

Liz 'I got all of the ingredients for homemade pizza'

Peter 'You're the best'

Liz 'I try'

I make us some homemade pizza. I did everything by hand even the crust.

I had some left over dough so I made some breadsticks. I just put some butter and garlic salt on them.

Peter (Italian accent) 'Bon Appetite!'

Liz 'You made breadsticks to?'

Peter 'I had some left over dough'

We both eat making small talk in the mean time

After dinner I clean up our dishes.

Peter 'I'll be in the garage if you need me'

Liz 'Okay'

…

Peter 'Computer, Play Summer Is a Curse by the Faim.'

I tinker around in the garage undisturbed

And write my poem before going to bed.

Author: Bonus (not actual poem, just thought it would be fun)

Cut

I go to the kitchen and cut the deck, and I fold the board, all by myself. SO I grow a pair, actually make it two. Send an invite out to you, suddenly I got a full house, it's true, but it has two mother freaking naked dudes, La more and Jack, but the beat falls flat, when they see that the king is back, then they stop their mack, La more runs, showing everyone his butt crack. Jack gets sick and is straight to gush, ain't that a mother freakin' royal flush? He stumbles to walk, cuz his feet are mush, he can't even talk, all he can do is gawk, like a mother freakin' hawk, so I throw him off the dock, He hit the rock, bottom of croc, his jaw locked the jock, never seen again on the block. No shock.

Nobody

Nobody's perfect. But what about everyone else?

Nobody's truly evil. But I thought he was perfect?

Nobody will hurt you. But How? Why?

Nobody can save me. But where is he?!

Nobody can stop you. But stop me from doing what?

Nobody should give up. But give up what?

Nobody is Nobody. But who is Nobody?

….

….

….

….

I'm Nobody. Perfect, yet horrible. Not good, and not bad. I'm what everybody doesn't want to be, yet what they strive for. I'm their dream and their nightmare.

But what is dream, and what is nightmare? What is perfect and what is horrible? What is good and what is bad?

Perception.


	2. Chapter 2

After a good night's sleep. I prepare for school, including eating breakfast. I head to school.

On my way to school, I notice some jocks, three to be precise making fun of an admittedly, stereotypical nerd. Heely's and all. I head over to investigate.

Peter 'Why?'

I analyze them. Just a quick observation to inform myself about their personalities and such.

Jock 1 'What do you mean? Look at him.'

I know, and they know, I am a good 3 -4 inches shorter than them.

Peter 'No, why did you go out of your way, and make a point to pick on him? To prove you're a jackass? Congratulations, you have succeeded, you may continue on with your day.'

I sense his anger and take a defensive stance, one that looks really intimidating, but is actually pretty useless. I did this for two reasons, they need to be careful about what they do on campus, so a fight is unlikely to occur. Two: they clearly don't know how to fight.

Jock 1 'Whatever, man. Let's go.'

The other two follow.

Peter 'They do that a lot to you?'

Nerd 'Yeah. But I'm used to it.'

Peter 'Not for long. I have some knowledge to for you protect yourself with.'

Nerd 'What do you mean?'

Peter 'You see the tallest guy?'

Nerd 'Yeah.'

I point to jock 1

Peter 'He's the ring leader, and he's cheating on his girlfriend.'

Nerd 'How do you know?'

Peter 'I happen to know, he is dating Claire. But for a guy, who works out 7 times a week, his clothes sure were sloppy. He also had a hickey on his neck.'

Nerd 'I didn't see a hickey'

Peter 'That's because he was hiding it with make-up. Why would he do that? He's not hiding it from his friends, he would practically be bragging about it to them, he's not hiding it from his parents, he could have just put his collar over it. Besides, his jock-like tendencies are definitely nurture, so if anything, he would be praised for it. He's hiding it from someone close enough to him to be suspicious and get a good look at him, meaning his girlfriend is suspicious already, and he got the hickey from someone else.'

Nerd 'Ohhhh. Clever.'

Peter 'Indeed, now, next time he picks on you, subtly bring the fact you know this up, and he should leave you alone.'

Nerd 'Thank you so much!'

Peter 'No problem, good luck.'

He nods and walks away. As I hear his footsteps fade, I hear another pair grow.

I turn around.

Peter 'Monika.'

Monika 'That was very nice of you.'

Peter 'anyone would have done the same thing'

Monika 'Plenty of people passed by without doing anything'

Peter 'I would like to be able to say it was because I was already helping him, but thanks to studies in social proof, I know that is not the case, and that all of them were bad people. I can't say I blame them though, in a world filled with corruption and arrogance, it proves difficult to stick to one's philosophical and literary principals.'

Monika 'I wholeheartedly agree.'

Peter 'All decent people do.'

I finally got to use that line, I wonder if she noticed,

Monika smiles

Monika 'Happy you got to use that line?'

Peter 'Very'

I smile inadvertently

Monika 'Oh my god! You're smiling.'

Peter 'Damnit'

I suppress my smile and put my monotone face back on.

Monika 'Aww' She says sadly.

I begin to walk towards the school.

Peter 'Will you be accompanying me on this short journey to the school?'

Monika 'It would appear so.'

Monika follows

Peter 'You know, I can't help but wonder. How did you get into literature?'

Monika 'It's a long story'

Peter 'Another time then. I look forward to hearing your story'

Monika 'What about you?'

Peter 'I would say, the gateway was Lauren Ipsom, I was 11 at the time, and was mostly reading nonfiction, until a friend recommended this book, he even went out of his way to buy it for me.'

Peter 'He told me it was a computational fairy tale focusing on algorithms and such. I read it with glee and began reading both Fiction and Nonfiction since.'

We arrive at the school

Peter 'Well, thank you for listening to my story.'

Monika 'The pleasure is mine.'

Peter 'I'll see you at the club.'

Monika smiles and heads to her class, as I head to mine.

I don't understand the point in being in AP classes if the material still poses no challenge. I guess it looks good on a resume, and I get college credits.

Ms. Johnson 'So, how did it go?'

Peter 'I Joined, I am officially the sixth member.'

Ms. Johnson 'Congratulations! So what do think of the club?'

Peter 'There is one other male that I am pretty sure is there for the girls. One sunshine filled fluff ball of kittens, one real-life Tsundere, one shy goliath, and one critical thinker and me.'

Ms. Johnson 'You didn't answer my question'

Peter ' I suppose you're right. I tolerate Tom. Sayori, the ball of sunshine, seems … fake? I don't know her joy just seems off… Natsuki kept on tugging on her sleeves, I think she has some scars or something, despite her sour attitude, I do like her. Yuri, the shy one, also tugs on her sleeve, but her presence is not bothersome as she is very quiet. I actually like Monika the best, as she is able to keep up with my rambling and surprisingly, listens to my sometimes incoherent babblery'

Ms .Johnson 'Your rambling can't be that bad.'

Peter 'It's not even in English half the time'

Ms. Johnson 'I stand corrected'

Peter 'Your sitting.'

Ms Johnson 'I sit corrected. Anyway class is about to start, why don't you have a seat.'

I sit down at my usual spot.

Ms. J begins talking about the mitochondria. Specifically its role in the synthesis of ATP.

The rest of my classes went by in a flash.

After homeroom again, I head for room 122.

Peter '…'

Natsuki 'Hey! You!'

Peter 'Hey! Me!'

Natsuki 'You're late'

Peter 'Not by my watch'

Natsuki 'Well, your watch is wrong.'

Peter 'Doubtful, it's an atomic watch, the most accurate type of watch known to man.'

Monika 'How did you get a hold of an atomic watch?'

Peter 'It was a gift. I could never afford one myself.'

Peter 'In any case, what's going on, the tables have turned, literally.'

PUNS

Monika 'Normally when a new member joins, we celebrate with cupcakes.'

Well, fine! Ignore my PUNS!

Sayori 'I'll get them!'

Natsuki 'Hey, I made them, I'll get them!'

Sayori 'Sorry, hehe, I just got excited.'

There's a seat next to Tom and a seat next to Monika. Eenie, Minnie, Miney, Who gives a fuck, Tom.

I go sit next to Tom.

Moments later Natsuki arrives with her cupcakes

They have little books on them.

I have never seen such finely crafted cupcakes. None of them as tempting as these.

Natsuki 'Bon appetite'

All minus Sayori 'Bon appetite'

Sayori 'Bid the app tight'

We all look at Sayori with perplexion.

Sayori 'What?'

Tom was about to say something, but I interrupted him.

Peter 'Nothing'

Freaking adorable.

Now that I think about, this place is suspiciously innocent.

Monika 'You okay, Peter?'

Damn, she's sharp. I have to be careful around her.

Peter 'Relatively? Yes.'

Monika 'What do you mean?'

Peter 'It is rather a private manner'

Monika 'I'm so sorry, I should have b-'

Peter 'Relax, you couldn't have known.'

Monika 'Thanks'

Peter 'Whatever for?'

Monika 'For not hating me.'

Peter 'Seems like a ridiculous thing to hate someone for, doesn't it?'

Monika agrees nervously

Peter 'Anyways, I have been dying to taste one of those masterfully crafted cupcakes'

Natsuki Smiles

Natsuki 'glad to see you recognize my talent.'

Peter 'May I?'

Natsuki 'I guess'

Peter 'You have my gratitude'

She seems slightly shocked for the briefest of moments, but quickly regains her composure.

I bite into it, noticing Natsuki looking at me, obviously awaiting my response.

Peter 'This is easily the best cupcake I have ever had. Thank you'

Natsuki 'It's not like a made them for you, or anything.'

Peter 'That is true, but you did give one to me, and I am still grateful for your gracious offer.'

Natsuki 'Whatever'

And with that, she sits down with a pout.

Peter 'Oh dear.'

I then put my head down in thought.

Sayori 'It's okay, she gets like that.'

Peter 'Just because it is a common occurrence doesn't mean it is right. I obviously upset her, and must rectify my wrongs.'

I resume my thought.

Okay, I thanked her for the cupcake.

Wait, maybe it was because I asked for the cup-

Natsuki 'It's fine Peter, you don't need to worry so much.'

Peter 'You still haven't received a proper apology yet.'

Natsuki 'You have nothing to apologize for.'

Peter 'Oh, I get it, bad day?'

Natsuki 'Something like that…'

I get it, it's not just that. I'm someone new, in her territory, so she's more defensive, expecting a fight, and was startled by my patience. Why is she territorial? I have a feeling it has something to do with her tugging on her sleeves, her short height, and her razor thin temper. I just need her to open up, and give me more information.

Natsuki 'Peter?'

Peter 'Sorry, I get lost in thought easily.'

Natsuki 'Jeez.'

Peter 'Again, sorry'

I notice everyone has finished the cupcakes by now, and I begin cleaning.

I grab the pan and set at a nearby desk. Then, I begin moving the tables to their corresponding designated locations. I notice everyone looks at me in confusion.

Peter 'You guys were done, right?'

Sayori 'Yeah, we're just surprised you started cleaning.'

Peter 'You guys set up, and made the cupcakes on behalf of my arrival, or so I'm told. I have contradicting information. Both from equally trustworthy sources. In any case, I thought it was only fair if I were to clean.'

I resume cleaning while the others slowly join in.

In no time, we finish cleaning.

Afterwards, everyone went to a spot in the classroom as if it were assigned. Am I supposed to have an assigned spot?

I go to a desk equidistant from all of the other members. I hope I won't be ousted because of my introverted tendencies.

Monika 'Hey, you getting along okay?'

Peter 'Yeah.'

Monika 'Then why are you sitting alone?'

Peter 'Reading a book isn't a two person activity. Especially if you don't have two of that book.

Monika 'Oh…Ok then… Have fun… I guess…'

The rest of the club was pretty uneventful. We shared poems, I gave honest reviews, was called an asshole, despite being nice, and everyone told all the good things in my poem and were absolutely no fucking help at all. Except Natsuki, her attitude was bad, but her review was helpful, warranting a 'thank you'. For some reason, she wasn't expecting a thank you. I think she was just trying to be cruel, and I took it as if she were being honest. In any case, I got my bag and went home. I then went to the garage and resumed blacksmithing my katana. Afterwards, I ate, did all the hygiene mumbo jumbo and went to bed.


End file.
